This story was originally published in July 2024 and was updated on June 30, 2026, to include current information.
White sails dot San Francisco Bay all year—thanks to its moderate climate. And for those lucky enough to own or have access to a boat, it’s one of the most inviting and scenic urban playgrounds in the nation.
I don’t know any sailors, but one spring afternoon I went sailing on the Matthew Turner, a tall ship that departs from Sausalito. In addition to a history lesson, I gained a fresh perspective of the bay, after decades of living and working near it.
The primary mission of the Matthew Turner is teaching young people to sail, but it also offers passage to the general public. Before I stepped on the ship’s deck, the closest I’d gotten to this form of slow travel was in books about seafaring explorations centuries earlier.
Aside from short ferry rides to Angel and Alcatraz islands, my only previous sailing on the San Francisco Bay did not augur well. That was on the Oceanic Society’s 60-foot motorboat heading 25 nautical miles west to the Farallon Islands; half of the eight hours aboard were choppy. Although I didn’t get seasick, I also didn’t eat the apple I’d brought along.
In contrast, sailing on the larger Matthew Turner was smooth. And, among assorted small sailboats and gigantic cargo ships, it’s the classiest boat on the bay. With wind power, covering about five knots per hour, it’s genuine slow travel. That speed lets you take in the scenery, which includes dolphins, seals, birds, and wind surfers, as well as other vessels. It also lets you appreciate the size of the bay: Rocky Alcatraz, green Angel Island, and the Golden Gate Bridge were backdrops, not close-ups. The winds determine the route. And the fresh air vanquished the Gilligan’s Island theme (“a three-hour tour”) that had been stuck in my head for days.
Built in the 21st century, over seven years, the Matthew Turner is named for the designer and builder of the brigantine Galilee, which had an advanced design for its time, the late 19th century. (The Galilee long held the passage record of 19 days from San Francisco to Tahiti.) The fir and oak 132-foot Matthew Turner has 11 sails; the main mast rises 100 feet. Its few modern features include an electric hybrid motor used for leaving the harbor. Otherwise, it’s strictly wind powered. That means no smell and no noise—aside from the crew leader calling out instructions about modifying sails—on an eco-friendly trip.
The brigantine sails on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout the year, ranging from 90 minutes to several hours. When I booked in May, I skipped the Mother’s Day special, figuring it would be crowded (it sold out) and got lucky: The amiable, enthusiastic young crew outnumbered the passengers. I chatted with nearly everyone aboard, including Alan Olson, the force behind the original project to build the ship. A highlight was watching the volunteer crew set the sails. At the end of the too-short, two-hour trip, they scampered up the rigging to the top of the masts to roll up and tie the sails closed. So many ropes and sails: It’s not an easy task to travel this old-school way.
Among the passengers was a couple who had sailed the ship before. I didn’t need to ask why.
Sailing another bay
I so enjoyed my time aboard the Matthew Turner that I planned a recent visit to San Diego around the one May sailing of another tall ship, the schooner Californian, a replica of a revenue cutter from the Gold Rush era. As in Sausalito, passengers were invited to help hoist the sails—and plenty did. Four sunny hours on the water offered ample time to relax.
The Maritime Museum operates these trips. Each hour, a volunteer aboard spoke for 10 minutes about the ship and bay. On our leisurely return, a nuclear submarine surfaced. The dark leviathan loomed in sharp contrast to the Californian. An added sighting: two “sea tractors,” large yellow-and-orange patrol boats/ferries on their way to escort the sub.
Our voyage ended with a literal bang: A crew member fired two of the ship’s small cannons as we neared the dock.
Sailings are limited, so sign up in advance ($92 for adults, $38 for children 17 and younger). Your ticket gives you access to several historic docked ships at the Maritime Museum, including the steam ferry Berkeley, which traversed San Francisco Bay, and the iron-hulled Star of India.
Travel even further back in time on the San Salvador, a replica of a galleon that explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into the San Diego Bay in 1542.
How to find your own tall-ship adventure
Opportunities to participate in a day sail in the USA are more widely available than you may think. That’s partly because “tall ship” includes topsail and two- and three-masted schooners, barques, and other smaller sailboats. Many tall ships with trips open to the public also operate as hands-on “classrooms” with programs to teach people how to sail. For example, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute has tall ships for families or groups to charter; these private charters help support the educational programs.
You’ll find more possibilities through Tall Ships America, an organization based in Newport, Rhode Island, that promotes learning to sail.
Sail along Lake Michigan in the tall ship Windy.
Dennis MacDonald/Shutterstock
Where to sail on a tall ship in the United States
Baltimore: Besides public two-hour sails, the Pride of Baltimore II, a topsail schooner, provides several guest crew opportunities for hands-on experience during the summer. While it visits New York in July, evening two-hour trips are available from Greenpoint on Long Island (priced at $55 for adults, and $25 for kids).
Chicago: Aboard the 148-foot schooner Windy, offerings include a daily Chicago Skyline tour from Lake Michigan (75 minutes; $49 for adults, $34 for kids) and an educational 90-minute hands-on sail (Saturday–Monday, $35 for adults, $25 for kids). The summer schedule has two-hour blues concert sails on Monday nights ($59 for adults, $49 for kids).
Gloucester, Massachusetts: During a 2.5-hour jaunt on the nation’s oldest fishing port, Gloucester Harbor, passengers can participate—helping raise the sails—or not, as they wish. You’ll be on the restored 1926 Adventure, a dory-fishing schooner and a National Historic Landmark. The Adventure offers public trips June through September on Sunday afternoons and Friday evenings (adults $60, $20 kids age 5–14; age 5 and under sail for free).
Seattle: See the city from a tall ship on the gaff-rigged schooner Bay Lady, an 85-footer. A two-hour sail on the Bay Lady with Seattle’s Tall Ship starts at $49 for adults; $39 for kids 2–12; there are several sailings daily on Puget Sound from late April through the end of October.
Another nearby option: The Lady Washington brig, the official tall ship of Washington, has day sails of two hours or more during July from Anacortes, Port Ludlow, Everett, and other cities. It’s a replica of the original Lady Washington, the first U.S. ship to sail the West Coast. A two-hour sail booked through Grays Harbor Historical Seaport is priced at $70 for adults, and $50 for kids 4–12; four-hour voyages are also available.
Wilmington, Delaware: Sail on this square-rigged replica of the 17th-century Kalmar Nyckel, which crossed the Atlantic several times between Gothenburg, Sweden, and the New Sweden colony outpost of Fort Christina (today’s Wilmington). Christina River cruises are 1.5 hours; those on the Delaware River are 2.5 hours. The ship also travels the Eastern Seaboard up to Long Island and Connecticut. River trips are available during summer, and there is also a festival sailing in Chestertown, Maryland, October 31–November 2. Christina River trips are $45 for adults and $25 for kids.
